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Going to start working on some Molds and Casting Experiments......


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Hey guys,

Just a heads up, I'm going starting experimenting with making molds and doing some casting.

Going to go with making Latex molds and resin casts......

Firstly, Any advice?

My thoughts on this, minimate wise, are to make non-poseable statue type mates with the ultimate goal, if this works the way I'm hoping it to, for a type of contest to come out of this.

One idea I have, I'm hoping to make into a prize for said contest.

What type of contest...... I have a couple ideas, one pretty solid but I don't know exactly how popular it will be and the others are just concepts.

Let's see how this works out :)

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Good luck.

I am researching a semi-custom casting experiment of my own... I am looking into exactly how to make copies of accessories. There never seems to be enough guns, knives, or batarangs to go around. And not just for minimates. I originally got the idea to start looking into this when my son misplaced one of his JLU Hawkgirl maces. If you collect JLU's, then you know the ratio of maces to Thanagarians is about 6:1 against the maces. It's apparently a pain in the tail enough that other customizes I know who cast their of parts (usually heads and limbs) generally go to one of the handful of repro-weapons dealers for accessories. And at present, none of those dealers carry what I'm looking for. And obviously, the dealers aren't about to share their secrets. But like Anthony Hopkins said when faced with a giant ticked off bear- "What one man can do, another can do."

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Sweet Mini Myte, I'll eventually have to check that stuff out!

Alumite has great stuff to use. You can make molds (both halves) in about 8 hours. And casting can be done in a matter of minutes. I used different mold making rubber a ways back and it took 16 hours curing time per half. That's 32 hours for 1 mold (yikes!). With Alumite, it`s 4 hours per half. You can also purchase resin dyes for your casting plastic. It`s messy, but well worth it. I know, I know, I sound like a company rep, but the products speak for themselves. Give 'em a try.

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Well SO far I've broken down a mate and glued it to a small box I had and poured some liquid latex that I had all over it..... that stuff takes 24 hours to dry. So first attempt is going to be a while...lol

There was some stuff I know the Industrial Design guys at my school were using that was 2 liquids you mixed together and poured over the item you want made into a mold and it turned into a blue rubbery foam that was easy to split to get the item out, easy to pour into and was just really nice to use. Problem, I wasn't in that department so I have no idea what that stuff was or where to get it.

It was good because it made a solid mold and not two separate pieces and it was sturdy enough that after you split it, it could be used over and over.

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Alumite has great stuff to use. You can make molds (both halves) in about 8 hours. And casting can be done in a matter of minutes. I used different mold making rubber a ways back and it took 16 hours curing time per half. That's 32 hours for 1 mold (yikes!). With Alumite, it`s 4 hours per half. You can also purchase resin dyes for your casting plastic. It`s messy, but well worth it. I know, I know, I sound like a company rep, but the products speak for themselves. Give 'em a try.

I've used alumilite before but never made an actual mold from it (just filled molds with it) I might try that since my local plastic store sells shitty molding silicone and don't want to order the good stuff off-line right now.

do I need to prep the subject with anything before molding so the alumilite doesn't stick? (cooking spray, mold release, vasaline, baby powder?) does the mold need to be prepped before it can be filled?

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Alumite has great stuff to use. You can make molds (both halves) in about 8 hours. And casting can be done in a matter of minutes. I used different mold making rubber a ways back and it took 16 hours curing time per half. That's 32 hours for 1 mold (yikes!). With Alumite, it`s 4 hours per half. You can also purchase resin dyes for your casting plastic. It`s messy, but well worth it. I know, I know, I sound like a company rep, but the products speak for themselves. Give 'em a try.

I've used alumilite before but never made an actual mold from it (just filled molds with it) I might try that since my local plastic store sells shitty molding silicone and don't want to order the good stuff off-line right now.

do I need to prep the subject with anything before molding so the alumilite doesn't stick? (cooking spray, mold release, vasaline, baby powder?) does the mold need to be prepped before it can be filled?

I'd just make sure the part you're making a mold of is clean. Just remember to spray mold separator on the first half of the mold before you pour the second half.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well....so far what it is looking like:

Attempt one - Possible Epic Failure....lol

Might not be a complete waste.....but I think I rushed in instead of slowly.

Gonna check on the mold in a day or two....possibly retry on a different route.

And no pics.....epic fails don't deserve pics....

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Hi guys. Been kind of a lurker here for a while. Hope you don't mind if I step out of the shadows and put my 2 cents worth in here.

I make custom figures and accessories for other scale lines. So far, I have not tried molding and casting parts for minimates but I plan on doing it soon. I have used alumilite products in the past and was very satisfied. Nowadays, I use Smooth-On products.

For molding purposes, I use their OOMOO silicone rubber. It is very simple to use. You don't need a pressure pot to make the molds and it mixes easily with a 50/50 ratio of the two base parts. Also, you have a usable mold in about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

For the casted parts, I am currently using their 326 product. It sets up as a clear urethane plastic. You can add pigments when mixing to make clear and opaque colors. It has a longer pot life than the 325 and not quite as long as the 327. For me it works for filling multiple molds but I don't have to wait forever for it to set up.

Edited by sinchicken
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Where can I find those, sinchicken? Cause there's this upcoming glider that I could really stand to make a couple copies of.

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Where can I find those, sinchicken? Cause there's this upcoming glider that I could really stand to make a couple copies of.

I buy directly from Smooth-on's webstore: Smooth-on

They ship really quickly. I buy the gallon kits because I do a lot of this stuff but you can get the smaller quart sizes for good prices. They go a long way too, especially when casting small figures and parts.

They have tons of different products to suit different needs but like I said, the OOMOO works best for simple and quick molds.

Edited by sinchicken
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I also want to add that they have 2 versions of OOMOO, 25 and 30.

25 is what I use. It is done in 75 minutes.

30 has a 6 hour demold time.

It is also a good idea to use a mold release agent to get a better mold and to prolong mold life. I use their Ease Release 200. It comes in a spray can and it easy to use. Just make sure you have plenty of ventilation or spray it outside.

I spray the object I am molding and take a soft brush (a makeup brush works great, snag one from your wife or get one at the store) and lightly brush it to make sure all surfaces are covered. Then a let it set for a few minutes and then give it another quick spray.

Also, everytime I use the finished mold I spray it with the release agent. Again, it gives a better cast, helps get the part out easier and makes life easier for the mold.

If you guys have any questions about this stuff feel free to message me.

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By all means Bob, if people require information about this stuff, they can certainly post it here..... I don't mind at all.

As long as everything stays within the realm of this thread's topic, it's cool with me.

It's good to know what other people are doing on the subject and I am just as interested in hearing their opinions!

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